Group chats are how classes, teams and communities organise everything. Now you can run one on ChatMinder, with a link or QR code to join and a guardian’s approval for every child.
If you have ever organised a class parents’ group, a football squad or a Saturday club, you know how it goes. Someone shares a phone number, someone else adds a few more people, and a week later you are not sure who is in the group any more. If children are involved, it is worse: you cannot tell whether a child was added with a parent’s blessing, or who else can see their number.
ChatMinder already lets families chat with a guardian in control. Today it also lets groups come together the same way: with one link, one QR code, and a guardian’s approval for every child.
🔗 A link and a QR code for every group
Open any group chat and choose Invite to group. You get a link you can paste into a message or a newsletter, and a QR code that anyone can scan with their phone camera.
Joining by link is off until you turn it on, so a new group is never open by accident. One switch makes the link live.
If someone already has ChatMinder, they join in a tap. If they are new, they create a free account from the same link and are added to the group when they sign up. You can also use Join with Code in the app to scan a QR code or type a code in.
🛡️ You decide who gets in
Turn on Require approval and each person who asks to join waits for an admin. Admins can also let moderators approve. The group shows a count of waiting requests, so nothing sits unnoticed.
You choose who can share the link too:
- Admins always can.
- Moderators and members can, if an admin allows it.
The link is a random code. It never changes unless you choose Reset code, and then the old link and QR code stop working straight away. Changing any setting never changes the code, so turning joining off and on again will not break a link you have already shared.
Someone who opens the link sees only the group’s name and description: not who is in it, and nothing from the chat.
👨👩👧 Every child still needs their own parent’s approval
This is what makes ChatMinder different from a normal group chat. A group link never skips a guardian.
When a child follows a link, the order is always:
- The group approves (if approval is on).
- The child’s guardian approves, according to their Contacts Protection level.
- The child joins.
What that means depends on the freedom you have given your child:
- Guardian Managed: your child cannot join a group by themselves. You join them, by scanning the group’s QR code or typing its code from your child’s profile.
- Approval Required: after the group approves, the request comes to you. Approve it and your child can accept.
- No Approval Required: your child joins as soon as the group approves.
When a child is waiting, they can see it on their chat list (“Waiting for your guardian’s approval”) and cancel it if they change their mind.
Joining your child to a group yourself
If someone gives you a group’s QR code or code, open your child’s profile, choose New chat, then Join with Code. Scan the code or type it in. The group’s approval still applies, and you can see the waiting request on your child’s chat list and cancel it if you need to.
🙈 Names stay private
Inside a group, a protected user appears to people who are not their contact or guardian as an initial rather than a full name. The one exception is whoever is approving join requests: an admin or moderator needs to see who is asking to join, so they see the full name.
Who is this for?
- School class and year-group parents: share one QR code in the newsletter, and approve each parent as they ask.
- Clubs and teams: one link for the squad, an admin or coach who approves, and a reset at the end of the season.
- Charities and community groups: a safe place to talk without handing out personal phone numbers.
We have put together a page just for you: Schools, clubs and communities →
Try it
Create or open a group, choose Invite to group, and turn on Join by link. If you are not using ChatMinder yet, you can get started for free →
To read all the details, visit Group invite links and QR codes →
Related reading:
Leave a Reply